(DAVIESS CO.) - Daviess County new zoning laws and zoning map went into effect on January 1.

Now residents will be required to obtain permits before building.

County Plan commission President Dennis Helms says the city's Building Inspector's Office will be where residents can obtain building permits.

Helms says people can go there to find out what jurisdiction their project falls under and what classification that land has. It makes it a one-stop-shop.

The county will make its GIS maps available on city computers. Daviess County began working on the zoning maps in response to the construction of I-69. The plan commission spent months laying out the maps.

Most of the county is zoned agricultural and the regulations allow for current uses to be grandfathered in.

The new planning and zoning rules also absorbed some previous limitations set by the county. They include the flood plain regulations which allow Daviess County to be part of the national Flood Insurance Program. The program requires that the county have a Flood Plain Administrator, which is Helms. who is also the county Surveyor.